Railway spike



Aug. 4', 1925.

J. M. FOX

RAILWAY sPIKn Filed March 12. 1923 Patented Aug. 4, 1925..

eeann 4 JaarEsMAn'rIN FOX, on MAnIsoN, wIsooNsIN.

RAILWAY SPIKE- Application filed March 12, 1923. Serial No. 624,627.

To all whom 272, may concern:

Be 1t known that I, JAMES MARTIN Fox,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Madison, in. the county of Dane and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway Spikes, of which the followingis a specification.

. The object of my invention "is, to'provide a railway spike diitering in shape and" 0011-. struction from; the standard railway. spike now in general use for fastening rails; and

one that will be much more effective and efficient in accomplishing the purpose for which it is intended; namely: I

Holding the rails of a railway track securely from tipping or moving so as to get out of a safe position-thereby preventing de-raihnents and accidents such as cause loss of life and damage to property.

The standard railwaysp-ike now in gen eral use has four sides and four edges and after being in position -for awhile in the ties to fasten the rails thesharp edges of the spike cut and gouge into the wood of the ties which causes the holes to enlarge, thus allowing the spikes to become loosened; and, as a consequence, the spikes'niove, not only laterally but also vertically, thereby causing the spikes to become moved away from the rails, creating a condition whichcauses a failure of the spikes to serve tohelp hold the'railsin a safe and secure position.

My invention provides a railway spike with'only two sidesinstead of four sides and with only two edges instead of four edges and is so shaped that it cushions into the wood of the tie instead of cutting into it.

In my device simplicity, efiiciency and durability are objects attained. With the foregoing and other objects in view the invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter fully' described, pointed out in the appended claim and illustrated in the accompanylng drawing which forms a part of this appllcatlon and in which Fig. l is a view of the'spike in side elevation.

Fig. Zis a view taken at right angles to Fig.1 including the aperture 8, for the reception of the auxiliary nail 2. v

Fig. 3 is a view illustrating the application of my spiking" device including the auxiliary nail 2.

Fig. 4 is a section taken on line A-A of Fig. l. i A I v Like referencecharacters denote corvlews. 7

My spiking device comprises a principal, spike 1 and an au xiliary nail 2.

The spike l, is formed with one fiat inner side 3, with the oppositely disposed rounded outer side 4, with a pointed end 5 and with a cam-shaped head 6, provided with-the nose 7. The spike 1 is so driven into thetie that the nose 7 engages the base of the rail 9, the nail 2 rendering withdrawal ordisplacement of the spike from. the rail base, a practical impossibility'while said nail is in position. The spike 1, is driven into the tie withits flat side 3 against the base of the rail thus permitting the head 6 to obtain a firm purchase upon the rail when in position' t Q It will be readily understood that the shape and construction or the railway spike of my invention as described will be less liable to cause a cutting or gouging into the wood of the railway tie than theshapel of the standard railway spike now in general use which is foursided and four cornered.

WVhat is claimed is 1-- A railway spike comprising a head and a shank, the latter having a single plane face for its-inner side adapted to bear against the rail tread, and a single rounded face for its outer side tapering intermediate the ex tremities ofthe spike to the lower end thereof,-said shank being provided withan aper ture below the head of the spike extending transversely and downwardly from the outer to the inner face for'the reception of an auxiliary securing member.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

, H'JAMES MARTIN FOX; WVitnesses: WINNIFRED E. Fox,

, I HANNAH HnNNnssEY.

responding parts throughout the several f 

